Written Statement: New Membership of the Social Partnership ...

I am pleased to announce two new members of the Social Partnership Council (SPC).

I recently wrote to the nominating bodies seeking nominations for vacant worker and employer representative positions. I can confirm that Siân Boyles, Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), and Russell Greenslade, Confederation of British Industry Wales (CBI), accepted my invitation to join the SPC.

I would like to welcome Siân and Russell to the SPC. They began their three-year term on 1 February. 

Siân replaces Darren Williams as a worker representative, and Russell replaces Ian Price as an employer representative. I would like pay tribute to both Darren and Ian for their service and for being a part of the inaugural SPC.

The Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023 (the Act) established the Social Partnership Council, which I chair as First Minister. The membership is made up of employer and worker representatives from the public, private and third sectors in Wales.

The SPC provides information and advice to Welsh Ministers about:

• The social partnership duties the Act imposes on public bodies and the Welsh Ministers.
• The pursuit of the A Prosperous Wales wellbeing goal by public bodies when carrying out sustainable development under the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.
• The socially responsible public procurement functions conferred on contracting authorities and the Welsh Ministers under Part 3 of the Act.

The SPC works in an open and transparent way. Information and advice provided to Welsh Ministers, meeting papers and minutes, are published in all but exceptional circumstances on the Social Partnership Council website. 

The SPC embeds social partnership at the heart of the Welsh Government, and I am confident that working closely and constructively with employers and workers representatives in this way will enable us to realise mutually beneficial improvements in equality, fairness and wellbeing in workplaces across Wales.

The SPC is a relatively new body and has achieved a lot since it first met on 1 February 2024. 

To date, there have been five regular meetings. In that time, I have consulted the SPC on the Welsh Government’s 2024-2025 Draft Budget, the Welsh Ministers legislative priorities, and the Welsh Government well-being objectives. This has discharged the social partnership duty for 2024.

The SPC have also endorsed an A.I report produced by the Workforce Partnership Council, on A.I implications for the workforce, and are considering next steps. They have agreed to establish working groups to consider: the use of Welsh Government financial support to business; and the issues to support Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. The SPC have also discussed the impact of the UK Employment Rights Bill currently making its way through Parliament.

Siân and Russell will join the existing membership of the SPC:

Ruth Brady, GMB

Neil Butler, National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers

Peter Hughes, Unite the Union

Gareth Lloyd, University and College Union

Shavanah Taj, Wales TUC Cymru

Jess Turner, UNISON

Mike Walker, Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers

Helen Whyley, Royal College of Nursing

Pippa Britton, Voluntary Sector

Dame Elan Closs-Stephens, Public Leaders Forum

Ben Cottam, Federation of Small Businesses

Councillor Anthony Hunt, Welsh Local Government Association

Professor Wendy Larner, Cardiff University

Nicola Prygodzicz, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board

Janis Richards, Make UK Ltd

Kathryn Robson, Adult Learning Wales